The present invention relates to a portable electrical energy monitor, and more particularly, to a portable electrical energy monitor for measuring the electrical energy usage of an appliance or the like.
In recent times, considerable emphasis has been placed on energy conservation as the result of a rising energy cost and depleting fuel supplies. Most of the energy conservation efforts have been made in industry and government, with very little that the individual consumer could do other than turn off or reduce power use. This is due, in part, to the fact that consumers have had little, if any, guidance in order to determine power consumption, so as to make intelligent decisions.
With respect to electrical energy usage, it is, of course, well known that electrical utilities use externally mounted kilo-watt-hour meters to determine electrical energy usage in individual residences or industrial plants. Such meters must be located in the main supply line to be useful for billing purposes, and they are generally located on the outside of a building so that they can be read without gaining access to the building. Although such meters are conveniently read by utility personnel, they are not easily read, and therefore, not easily used by consumers actually using the electrical energy.
In order to give consumers increased knowledge and information concerning electrical power usage, various monitoring and controlling devices have been proposed to determine consumer power consumption or electrical energy uses. Examples of such devices are shown by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,080,568; 4,106,095; 4,120,031; 4,207,557; 4,233,590; 4,253,151; 4,291,375; and 4,630,211. Most of the devices shown in such aforementioned prior art patents are used integrally with or as a part of the basic utility monitoring device, or are generally innerconnected with the overall or complete circuit throughout the house or building. As a result, they are extremely complicated, thus resulting in very expensive units.
Consumers realize that overall power consumption can be monitored by the electrical utility metering devices, if desired; however, a consumer may also desire to monitor a specific appliance, i.e., an air conditioner, refrigerator, television and the like, to determine power consumption or usage. Most of the devices that have been built for consumer monitoring and/or control are so complex and costly that consumers have not been encouraged to employ such devices in order to look for ways to reduce power consumption or determine electrical energy usage.
With respect to property owners, such as owners of multi-family apartment buildings or units, it would be useful to have an electrical energy monitoring device for each multi-family apartment or unit to monitor each tenants usage of power consumption, where the landlord is paying for electric utilities, as part of the tenants rent. Unfortunately, tenants take advantage of this situation, and landlords do not have any practical and economic means of verifying power consumption or electrical energy usage, to determine if it meets acceptable use levels.